Nader Slams Wall St. CEOs

On a night when much of the country tuned in for the final presidential debate between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, Ralph Nader brought forth his vision for Americas future at a rally and fundraiser in Cooper Unions Great Hall, where the Independent Party presidential candidate discussed the current economic crisis, health care and jobs in the United States.

The CEOs Goliaths have tanked their companies, and theyre going to bring this city down. Its a corporate bloodbath, Nader said to a packed auditorium. Its a silent coup detat; corporations should get out of government.

Nader, who has run in the past three presidential elections, has been on a political party seesaw. For the 1996 and 2000 elections, he affiliated himself with the Green Party. This year, as well as in 2004, he is running as an independent. Last month, Nader met his goal of getting his name on the ballots of 45 states, including New York, but the campaign has been excluded from participating in debates alongside Obama and McCain. According to Nader, this extends to being blacklisted from networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC.

One hundred thousand have died because of medical care. How many more have to die? Nader asked. He said everyone in the United States should have health insurance and emphasized Canadian health insurance as the pinnacle of medical care.

Nader also said he would like to bring back a stock transaction tax, which was abolished after World War II. This tax plan would generate tens of billions of dollars annually, as well as displace some of the taxes on work and consumer essentials, according to the Nader campaigns website, www.votenader.org.

Its a great tragedy that Ralph cant be president. The critical issue is he is preaching to the choir, the working Americans, said Julian Zuckmann, a Tisch graduate from the class of 1985. Last night, Zuckmann pledged $2,300 to the campaign.

A Time/CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll from late August revealed that Nader had the support of 8 percent in New Mexico, 7 percent in both Colorado and Pennsylvania and 6 percent in Nevada.

One reason for this campaign is to bring this generation into a clean America, Nader said.

The Nader campaign will be protesting the Wall Street bailout Thursday at noon in front of the New York Stock Exchange.